Wake-up Call
by KorrohShipper
Summary: "It fit perfectly in my hand and when I pressed a button at the side, the screen flashed bright. I had stopped breathing when I saw the lock screen and the person in it. A hint? Well, it was a person I had not seen in ten years. Who is it? It was me, a person much happier, satisfied, younger and a more positive, more optimistic version of myself. The person I lost when I lost him."
_**This is a future fic. I suggest you read "A Son's Eulogy" first to understand the story thoroughly, seeing that this is a companion one shot and continues on that particular timeline. Rated T for the suicide-ish theme. I do not own PJO or HoO.**_

* * *

"Luke," I grabbed the insect repellent lotion and squeezed a generous amount into my hands. I rubbed it on Will's skin as he complained lightly, his eyes shining and brimming with excitement for his Summer stay at Camp Half-Blood, a place he had been dreaming of staying at for so many years. And now, he's going to get his wish. I turned to Luke, who was taking the bags from the SUV. "I want you to take care of your siblings, okay?" Luke laughed at me before nodding lightly, as if he was practicing, as if nodding to everything I said was something so constant that it would be his reflex action.

"I've been taking care of those brats," he teased Will and carried him up and he (Will) squirmed in protest while Charlotte was watching, yelling and throwing out his threats playfully at his brother. It was a sight to behold, a memory that I'd freeze in time for all of eternity. "I've been taking care of them," he fell down and gave out an ' _oof_ ' as he collided with the ground, "since they was born!" his voice and tone was strained, which was reasonable seeing that he took the fall and that Will was on his chest. Charlotte stifled a laugh as her twin brother glared at their older brother.

" _Still_ ," I stubbornly persisted, "If anything—and I mean _anything_ —happens, I want you to give me a ring, okay?" I helped my boys up and brushed off the dirt from his shirt and pants before spraying some moisturizer around Charlotte. "If it weren't for my project with GNB, I would stay with you guys," I gave them an apologetic look, but Luke, as always, told me that it's fine and brushed it off with his charming grin, a trait he got from his equally charming father, Percy.

"Mom!" Charlotte whined. I ignored Charlotte and gave Luke a condescending look.

" _Fine_ ," he eventually submitted, dusting off some of the dirt, leaves, and twigs that caught on to his maroon Harvard sweatshirt, a prized possession he refused to have anyone else, besides himself, touch or wash.

I gave him a satisfied smile when I felt a tugged down at my jeans and I saw Will looking up to me, his grey eyes all big and stormy. It was an astounding sight to see, his grey eyes. I've seen those pair of eyes my whole life, even before Will was born, and yet I have never been so enchanted by the sight. It's like seeing something I've been around with and being re-introduced to, but in a whole new, different perspective.

"But, Mom," his eyes were filled with curiosity, a trademark Athenian characteristic. "Aren't phones, technically, _illegal_ around," he looked around, looking over his shoulders, watching out for anything that could have been lurking out in the woods, yet another typical Athenian trait, "these places?" he squeaked out, much to Luke's extreme delight, and made him burst out in laughter at his brother's high pitched voice.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and face-palmed herself, watching the scene and seeing how her twin brother is acting.

" _So_ busted!" he couldn't contain his grin as he swung his arm and bag over his shoulder, studying and cherishing the SUV that's about to become his, the same SUV that I bought solely for the purpose of my living, weekly nightmare—Will's dreaded soccer practice.

Of course, being the dutiful mother I am, I never told Will of my, erm, dislike of his annual Saturday activity, but it irked me to no end, and honestly? I would rather spend the day in and just download a movie from uTorrent ( _Which is now controlled by Cabin 6, the Athena cabin_.) and enjoy being a pirate.

"Mom?" his voice jarred me back to reality, snapping me back to the world I live in. He gave me this look and I placed a hand on my hip, gave him a knowing look.

"William," I started off, taking a deep breath of air as I tried to think of a less biased way of explanation. Alas, I couldn't. "Honey, _dear_ , your father and I happened to be the Western Civilization's most important heroes and assets," I gave him a wink as Luke gave out a whoop, "I bet that both the gods and Chiron could make an exception for Percy and Annabeth Jackson's kids." Will gave me a look and Luke kept laughing.

"That's a bit biased, Mom," He retorted and Luke ran over to Will and gave him a high five.

"The world is biased—no one said that the world is fair." Luke raised a brow as he cocked his head to a side.

"That's not very motherly, not something I'd expect from my friends' mothers, too." I gave out a short and unamused laugh, my face morphed from cheery to serious.

"Well, Lucas, _honey_ , I'm not sure if you know this already, but being my son and all that, I'd expect you to know," I crossed my arms and gave him a daring look, "I'm not like most mothers out there." Luke let out a hearty chuckle and shook his head slowly.

"So I'm told," he breathed out and placed all the bags down, walked towards me, and enveloped me n a tight embrace. "You don't have to worry about us, Mom," he gave me a reassuring smile. "I know that you're still worried, but there's no need to be," I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. Something he got from his father. "And if some idiot camper decides to attack them, _well_ , they'd be sorry." He looked over at Will and Charlotte, they were fussing over one of Chiron's ancient leather journals. "They'd be sorry that they ever thought of messing with the Jackson siblings." I hugged him tighter, breathing in his scent.

"Just take care of them, Lucas." I ordered him and I felt him chuckle.

He buried his face into shoulder, something he did when he's either thankful or scared. "Besides," and then, there was this confident tone in his voice. "Who woud want to mess with them? Their arrival at Camp would be the second biggest thing ever, second to my arrival of course, but rest assured, they'll be celebrities!" I released him from my embrace and gave him a curious look. "They'd be asking about their totally awesome big brother, after all!" I snorted at that and sent them off.

"I was kidding!" he shouted out, in between his laughter as they went ahead the woods, leaving me alone on the isolated highway.

* * *

I began driving home.

I had to go home and get some sleep. I had to travel to California to attend this meeting with an executive from GNB to discuss the details for their new headquarters because he thought that having video conferences were unethical and stupid.

Of course, being a single mother of three, I found it nerve-wracking, how I had to turn my schedule upside down because of a single client. _Barnabus Stinson_ , that was his name. I felt the urge to kill him, to subdue him.

But I couldn't do that, I'd have a little too many witnesses for that, and the fact that I still have to put Will and Charlotte through middle school, high school, and college ( _And by Zeus, he wants to be a doctor! I mean, first a lawyer, then a doctor, and then a politician? When am I going to rest_?).

Stupid Will Solace, being around my son, inspiring him to become a radiologist.

" _Baby, baby, baby, oh_!" the song sounded throughout the car. I cringed at the high pitched noise. Immediately, I turned the radio off and began to lean to the other side when I realized that this was the Ford Ecosport, not the my work car, the Hyundai Accent. I mentally berated myself for leaving the pack of music CDs at my car.

Turning the song off had snapped me back to reality and realized how quiet it was. Without the kids to make noise, I never realized how long it was, the drive home. No music or radio ( _I've lost faith in radio channels_.), no kids to make noise to keep my mind off the noticeable silence inside the SUV. The silence eventually swallowed me whole as I drove finally made it inside the private subdivision.

I drove through the street, the orange hue of the sunset gracing and touching the asphalt as the broken line (the white paint) disappeared over the hill.

Soon, I spotted my cozy, two story home. My hand automatically went to my right, the passenger seat, and felt something plastic and rectangular. I felt particularly satisfied, grabbing the remote at one try without having the need to turn my head.

I opened the garage door and drove in.

I was about to get out when I heard a familiar ' _ding_ ' and, on reflex, my head shot to the back, looking over my shoulder to see my bag and I instinctively grabbed out for it. My hand, once it had a grip on the white leather of Hermes ( _A gift from Aphrodite, actually_.), grabbed it and placed it on my lap. I started searching for my phone.

I finally found it and unlocked it and saw a missed call from my kids. I found myself frowning, thinking of situations of what could have happened to them. I rushed to call them back when I saw a message saying they got there fine and a message asking me to call immediately. Feeling tired and all, I decided to make it a task for later.

I was about to place the phone back in when I saw a name, something I had not paid much attention to recently. I let out a short breath of air as I examined the number and the contact picture. I tapped the picture and gingerly ran my fingers through the screen at the enlarged picture. My breath caught on a hitch as I held back a sob, as I felt my eyes brimming with tears. I clenched my jaws as my breathed in fast and heavy.

Suddenly, not sure if it was against my will or not, my finger went for this green telephone icon. Soon, I pressed my phone on my right ear and heard it ring and felt something around me vibrate. I let the tears run as the ringing continued, as the vibrating continued. I felt sick to the gut when I realized what I was doing to myself. I felt sick and disgusted at how I'm acting, but I continued and refused to let it rest, to remove it.

I braced myself for the his voice. I closed my eyes shut, but they flew open when I heard his voice.

" _Hey_ ," I wanted to reply, so badly. I wanted to believe that he had finally answered the call, out of the thousands I sent to his phone. " _Who is this_?" his voice was groggy, like he had just risen from his sleep. There was a long pause. I braced myself for his laughter, and when it came, I felt my world shake as he tried ( _And failed_.) to control his laughter, which slowly faded. " _Ha! Hey, sorry about that—bet I fooled you there for a second, didn't I_?" I wanted to be fooled, to wake up as an idiot and to believe what I wanted to believe, but I couldn't. I couldn't believe because I've already been fooled, I've already tried to believe those words 10 years ago.

I couldn't hold back the sob that I've held in for so long. " _Hey, so I'm sorry that I couldn't get to the phone, probably asleep or something_." His voice held so much raw and unchangeable happiness. " _If this is Annabeth, don't kill me just yet_ _—I've got Chinese take-out on speed dial_." I gave out a teary laugh, probably looking like a messed up person, with tears running through my face and bloodshot eyes.

That line never failed to make me laugh. But it always fails to make me forget about the pain.

" _If this is Annabeth, tell the kids that I love them and that they mean the entire world to me_ ," I felt so cheated, seeing how my sons were deprived of their amazing father, of how the Fates were so cruel to give them something for a short and brief time, only to painfully rip him apart from our lives, when everything felt and seemed perfect, when we were so vulnerable, when we needed him the most.

" _And if this is Annabeth, tell yourself that you're the most gorgeous and breathtaking woman alive, that I would die for you a million times, that I love you because I simply do_." I felt so cheated because he was gone too soon. That I have never loved somebody the way I loved him and they still took him away from me, that the whole world owed me a shot at being happy and they took it away, that they just teased me with what I could never truly have.

" _So, leave a message after the beep and I will get back to you_." He said as I clutched onto my steering wheel, gasping and trying so hard to get some air into my lungs. " _You know who you are_ ," his voice took a deep turn, a serious turn. " _I will go back to you_." Then, there was the beep, like the one at the hospital.

I still remember that night, when I rushed into the doors and stopped frozen in my tracks when I heard this long monotone beep. Soon, there was a doctor who told me stuff that I refused to digest, to listen to until I heard the words " _too much damage_ ", and when I heard his tone drop when he said " _dead_ ", and when I couldn't take my own weight when he said " _I'm sorry_ ".

I dropped my phone back into my bag and desperately lunged for the glove compartment. There, when I opened it, I saw a phone. I slowly took it and gingerly carressed the screen.

It fit perfectly in my hand and when I pressed a button at the side, the screen flashed bright. I had stopped breathing when I saw the lock screen and the person in it. A hint? Well, it was a person I had not seen in ten years. Who is it?

It was me, a person much happier, satisfied, younger and a more positive, more optimistic version of myself.

The person I lost when I lost _him_.

I may seem fine, that I've long since recovered, but I haven't.

The truth is, in every accident, in every event, no one can truly recover, no once can truly get out of a situation unscathed, unmarked or unscratched.

No matter how close you were or how much time has passed, the trauma is still there, the memory will never fade and no matter how much you've denied it, it's still there.

Right now, I seem like person living in the moment with my boys, an architect known by _the_ known, a demigod who is worthy of immortality. . .the seemingly endless list goes on and on.

I, no matter how practiced the mask is, am only using a façade, and it's so weary that I could collapse any moment now. I am only a shell of the person I used to be, the person I used to dream of becoming. I am only a shadow of who my prime. _Hell_ , I have a shadow hanging over me , slowly and painfully engulfing me into its dark, cold, and cruel grasps. I am nothing but a hollow case, a poor and pathetic excuse of who I used and should have been.

I leaned down and rested my head on the steering wheel , slowly feeling sleepy, slowly accepting Hypnos and entering his domain while I wept when I felt the phone in my hand vibrate. Soon enough, it brought out this ' _ding'_ sound. I caught my attention and I, slowly and groggily, pushed myself up and stared at the phone's screen, which was illuminated and showed this alarm. I couldn't get the title, so my brows had furrowed together, my eyes squinted in an attempt to read it, but I couldn't do it.

I swiped the lock icon across the screen and soon, a number pad appeared, showcasing numbers one to nine. I slumped back into the seat, still applying pressure, as I began to think of possible answers, possible pass codes when I felt my fingers move across the screen involuntarily.

To my surprise, the screen unlocked itself and I felt myself cry, felt my chest tighten, as if a titanoboa decided to give me its signature and deadly embrace, suffocating me and depriving me of the air I need. I felt like my chest was going to combust, was going to explode at any given moment with the pressure building up inside of it. I felt like I'm in a pressure cooker.

I felt hot tears run down my face as I realized and digested the fact that it was my birthday, 0712. It does not matter how many times I do this, I still continue to be this emotional whenever I come across this phone and its pass code.

I wanted to bawl, to break down, but the alarm stopped me. It got on my nerves and I felt the need to throw the phone away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, so I just went to the clock application, but my heart stopped when I saw the alarm, I felt like oxygen was sucked up from my lungs.

I dismissed the alarm and kept my eyes on it, which was entitled ' _home_ ', set to sound every 6 PM.

Soon, I found myself searching through his phone, as if I've never done this before. I visited memories through the vast album his phone had to offer, ranging from the first time Sally held her grandson, to Luke's first basketball game, to Charlotte's first tooth, to Will's first words, to Luke's first guitar, to Charlotte's first gift, to Luke's first time meeting and holding his baby brother, to Will's first birthday, to his first haircut and first word, to our second trip to Paris, and to our last anniversary date together in the Bahamas.

Then, I saw this picture of the kids, when I just brought the twins home from the hospital. Luke was standing on his toes to get a glimpse of the new babies. A small cry had escaped my lips and I realized how selfish I was. I soon placed Percy's phone back inside the glove compartment. With the sudden realization, I lifted my foot from the acceleration pedal and I turned the engine off, collected my things and went inside to fix myself some ambrosia and nectar.

After eating a square of ambrosia, which tasted like Percy's signature chocolate milkshakes, I plopped down on the couch and smiled as I grabbed a small picture frame containing a photo from our wedding day, which was my birthday ( _He saw it fit, seeing that our first anniversary coincided with his birthday, he thought that our wedding anniversary should be on my birthday_.).

I felt the freedom I needed, the air in my lungs.

After wrapping the blanket around me as I watched the wood crackle as it burned in the fireplace, I grabbed my phone and pressed on Percy's number. I texted him, for the first time in ten years. I texted him. I looked at my side and saw the wedding photo again. I smiled at it. "Thanks," I took it in my hands, caressed the frame, "Percy, thank you for everything." I gently placed it in front of me.

I felt safe and warm, as if he had me in his arms again.

As I was slowly falling asleep, I heard my phone ring and I remembered about the boys—I never really answered their texts nor their calls!

I quickly grabbed my bag and fished for my phone and when I unlocked the screen, I saw a text message from an unknown number. I smiled at the ceiling like an idiot and let my hands drop to my laps as I continued to smile and laugh at the ceiling.

 _Ur welcome, WG,_  
— _SW_

* * *

 ** _As per our usual routine, I do not own PJO nor do I own HoO._**


End file.
